Steve Blake or Derek Fisher?

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: It shouldn’t be one or the other, but it is.

Word is the Los Angeles Lakers have signed Steve Blake to replace longtime favourite Derek Fisher at point guard.

Blake is a solid addition. He’s smart, can stretch defenses with his range, and rarely gets beat off the dribble. The classic table-setter has a mean streak, too: legend has it he smashed a chair and brawled with teammates at an infamous Trail Blazer’s practice in December of 2007, which helped save Portland’s season.

So Blake fits. Just not at the expense of Fisher.

Sure, ‘D-Fish’ has weaknesses. The veteran struggles with the grind of the regular season and can’t keep point guards in front of him on defense.

However, experience matters. Fisher won game four of the 2010 NBA Finals with 16 points in the second half. His 22 points kept the purple-and-gold in game five of the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns, setting up Ron Artest to play hero with his last second put-back.

Numbers and statistics don’t do him justice, though. His greatest strength is leadership. After all, Fisher smoothed over the tension between Coach Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant. And he mentors younger teammates.

There’s no way to measure his contribution. Unfortunately, the Lakers are doing exactly that, and management is stuck on one number: Fisher’s 2010 salary.

They’ll have Fisher back for 2011, but only if he takes a 50% pay cut on his $5 million per year salary.

Coming off a championship, this is a no-no. In fact, it’s an insult. And Fisher – a proud person – will interpret it as such.

This is unfortunate. The Lakers would best be served with Blake and Fisher, not Blake instead of Fisher.